k
“The problem. . . is that (In Living
Color) has the potential to make oth
ers believe this is the norm for-or
worse yet, a common denominator
that defines all of-Black America. ”
African Americans, and it should
not be denied. And it is not neces
sarily that it fosters the belief
among many American youths that
mediocrity and ignorance is fash
ionable (though that is a very seri
ous threat in itselO-
The problem is that for those
who may not fully understand
African Americans, a show that
expresses part of the African
American exj>erience like this one
has the potential to make them
believe that African Americans
are thieves, bums, clowns or hoes.
By James Claude Benton
Stajf
It’s hip, its funny, fresh and at
the forefront of popular culture in
the 1990s. It features Mtoine, the
homeless bum; Homey, the clown
angry at being a tool of “the man”;
the thieves of the Homeboy Shop
ping Networic; and two gay pa
trons of film, art, travel and the
like. It has lampooned Jesse
Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Louis
Farrakhan, Spike Lee and MC
Hammer, among others.
And it’s in trouble.
One of last year’s most popular
television shows, the Fox
network’s In Living Color is be
ginning to show some signs of
wear that may culminate in its
timely or untimely demise, depend
ing on how you see it.
The reason? The feelings ex-
erly are not mutually exclusive.
My fathCT was an African, and he
spoke beautifully at home. Nelson
Mandela speaks beautifully.
Should Mandela put his hat on
backward and say, ‘Yo homey,
this is Nelson. Yo Winnie Yo, this
isdef ?”
Ajaye’s statements were later
commended by columnist Bob
Greene of the Chicago Tribune,
who felt that Ajaye’s concerns
were strengthened by his involve
ment with theshow. “Headdresses
a circumstance that is hurtful not
only to black Americans—espe
cially black children—but to the
nation as a whole. . . it makes
ignorance acceptable. In a way, it
makes ignorance a goal,” Greene
writes. “Ignorance is not fashion
able when you’re in your 20s or
your 30s and you can’t get a job
because you don t even know how
Endsights
pressed by Franklyn Ajaye, a
comedian and comic writer, who
left the show because he believed
it was beginning to display a dan
gerous effect: limiting and defin
ing African Americans.
“I have no desire to be hip to the
latest black slang and do the stere
otypical hip thing,” he said in an
interview with TV Guide. “I was a
Richard Pryor fan, and I’ve used
profanity in my act But when it
becomes a whole thing that de
fines (African Americans), we’re
limiting ourselves—the enemy is
us.
“This whole street, urban rap
thing needs to be pulled back some.
The ghetto is being glorified, and
there’s nothing good about aghetto
except getting the hell out of one.
Being Black and speaking prop-
to speak a coherent sentence.
“The assumption of the ‘whole
street, urban rap thing’ is that
impoverished black children are
not likely to escape their circum
stances. In many inner-city
schools, children who want to
study and try to excel are mocked
and ridiculed and made to feel
foolish. Now, ambitious children
in poor neighborhoods are made
fun of for even trying to do better.
The opinions of both are true.
The laughter created by satiriza-
tion on In Living Color can be
somewhat therapeutic, but if it is
not tempered with the viewer s
realizauon of what is reality and
what is exaggwation, it can be
dangerous.
Without that realization, people
take a more intransigent, unsym
pathetic line tdward the homeless
because Antoine’s existence harms
the progress made by homeless
activists (who cannot stand him),
the problems faced by feminists,
gays and lesbians are trivialized
with each shout of “Go on, girl” or
each snap in aZ formation, Homey
becomes a symbolic reflection of
the quintessential angry Black man
(a clown), and—worse yet—a
generation of teens and young
adults think it’s cool to be crimi
nals or use polysyllabic utterances
they can’t even define correctly.
Why? Because suddenly, these
images are glorified due to the
producers’ carelessness and the
viewers’ lack of realization.
I am not above reproach. I find
In Living Color funny. Yes, it is
hip, entertaining and on the cut
ting edge of humor. When I watch
it, I often laugh at its skits, jokes
and characters. But does the laugh
ter ultimately do more harm than
good?
Sometimes, after the laughter
has subsided, I feel something
painful, something that easily strips
away the ever-thin veneer of dig
nity. In its place is the feeling that
some 40 years after Amos'n
Afuiy—a show that was so stere
otypical at a crucial time in our
struggle for equality that it is stil’
considered a mark of shame by
many African Americans (just ask
your ancestors, if you don’t be
lieve me)—we have made little
progress in portraying the wide
range of African American life in
this country, or we have gone ful'
circle. What difference can there
be between Antoine the bum of
1990s America and Stepin Fetchit
of America in the 1930s?
The problem with In Living
Color is not that it displays the
“whole street, urban rap thing."
That is part of the existence of
It has the potential to make others
believe this is the norm for—or
worse yet, a common denomina
tor that defines all of—Black
America.
But if I nLiving Color is a “Black
thing” that “you wouldn’t under
stand” (a statement that implies
those who don’t understand
wouldn’t even try in the first
place)—then understanding is
needed. And that, my friend, is the
key that can bring about the solu
tion to many of our problems.
Peace.
Top Ten Reasons Why The
Struggle Must Continue
#1. After a decadc of idle promises, a perma
nent site for the BCC has not yet materialized.
#1. Failure to establish the Curriculum of
African and African-American Studies as a de
partment.
#1. A curriculum that excludes cultural and
gender minorities.
#1. An empty commitment to the recruit
ment and retention of black faculty.
#1. Employees are subjected to discrimina
tory university practices and policies.
#1. Low retention and graduation rate of Af
rican-American students.
#1. Cultural insensitivity as indicated by the
erection of the statue,’The Student Body.”
#1. Lack of support(i.e. increased facility
and staff) for the AH AN A office of academic
affairs.
#1. University refusal to recognize hate
crimes as a direct result of racial tension on this
campus.
#1. The struggle must continue to empower
the African-American community.
The Black Student Movement presents these
points of contention to inform, motivate, and
unify the UNC African-American commu
nity. We strive to be a voice and catalyst for
change.
Express yourself about issues that concern
Black Ink readers. Drop your article by
Suite 108-D Student Union, or mail to
Black Ink, CB# 5210, Student Union,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
NC 27514
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